Workday on the Millrace Trail |
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The Oneonta Susquehanna Greenway has a new project! The Greenway is creating a new trail at what is called the Millrace, a small stream that originates in the Susquehanna River, arcs through the center of the City of Oneonta, and rejoins the Susquehanna. The Millrace originally powered the Elmore Feed Mill, which is no longer in existence.This map of a portion of Oneonta shows the location of the Elmore Feed Mill. It was located on the site of what is now Endwell Rug, close to our new Millrace path. The black line running vertically through the photo is the Millrace.
The proposed trail will be ADA compliant, that is, handicapped accessible. It is planned to be six feet wide, level, and covered with stone dust. It will be possible for those in wheelchairs, those pushing strollers and those needing a hard, level surface for slow careful walking. The trail will follow the Millrace through a pretty, wooded area that is accessible from Neawha Park. |
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The following photos show an October 11, 2009 workday on the trail. This day was chilly, but sunny. Several members of the Mountain Biking group came to give members of the Oneonta Susquehanna committee a hand. It was hard physical labor, because the trail must be level, so volunteers dug dirt from the upper side of the trail and pulled it to the lower side. Jean Paul Orgeron, committee member, fashioned a board that exactly measured the six foot width. He also brought a level and continually checked the trail to see that it was level.
The group did an amazing amount of progress for the three hours. The photos below can give some idea of the work involved:
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(left) Jean Paul Orgeron checks the new trail for width and levelness as Bill Davis and Donna Vogler work on the trail. |
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Steve Andrews, (front) observes as Keith Schillo attempts to remove a root from the new trail. Steve is Director of Recreation for the City of Oneonta. He was a major organizer of the workday, as was Donna Vogler, chairman of the Oneonta Susquehanna Greenway committee. Thanks go out to Keith Schillo, Rich Martindale, Eileen Russell, Bill Davis and members of the committee for a productive workday. The Greenway hopes to have more workdays. If you or your group is interested in helping with this project, call Marjorie Rogers at 432-8787.
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This photo shows the Millrace. The new path will follow the Millrace through a pleasant woods. IfIf you would like to see a slideshow of this workday with more photos, click on the following link: http://gallery.me.com/eveningstar#100171&view =carouseljs&bgcolor=black&sel=11
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| Credit should also be given to Brian Fawcett from Asbury Gardens for all the time and work he did with his equipment to develop the trail. Soon after our workday, Brian took down the large hump at the beginning of the trail and leveled it out to meet the grade where the work day workers started. In addition, he continued from where the group ended and completed widening and leveling the trail all the way to the back of the ball field. He worked for nearily 6 hours with his equipment. It would take about 4 more work days to complete the work he did. Thanks from all of us to Brian Fawcett. |
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